How come everyone seems to be able to eat more than me?

ssaraj43

This group would be awesome for you....http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

TP2323

Bangles:
Your lament sounds a lot like mine. I am always whining about why can't I eat like a normal person w/o ballooning up? I'm trying to lose weight right now, but 9 years ago when I was your age I was maintaining about 115 lbs (at 5'3') on a measly 900 cals a day. And I don't mean net. I was not eating back my exercise cals which I was not bothering to calculate although I was doing cardio and pilates 3-4 days a week. (Frankly, I was exhausted all the time.) So you are not alone! Once I relaxed my very restrictive diet (after getting married; so cliché) and started eating like a normal person, I gained weight pretty fast and now I'm struggling to lose it again. I don't know if that extended period of deprivation damaged my metabolism because before that I wasn't keeping track of my calories. I suspect it may have had some part, but I think I was also just born with a total crap metabolism. I'm eating 1200 cals a day now and running and weight lifting and my weight loss is depressingly slow. I've had my thyroid hormone levels checked twice because there is a lot of thyroid disease in my family and I have several of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism, and although my levels are on the low end, they are not low enough for any doctor to be willing to treat it.
All that to say, it seems everyone's metabolism is different. It is definitely NOT FAIR. Being short (sorry, but I consider myself short) and female doesn't help matters. But if you have many of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism you might want to talk to your doctor about it.

I don't think people on here take into account that our bodies change as we get older. The only people I see with the SAME bodies they had as teenagers were those body builders. Can't we just - accept our bodies and allow them to change and redefine fit as something other than " I want to stay the same size I was when I was young"?? You're not young anymore. We all have to change, it's life.

rosanna421

i am 5ft1 and 118lbs I average around 1530-1650 cals, and up to 1800-2000 on days i work out days to build muscle. After doing this for a month and a half, i have mostly maintained my weight, i am now at 118.6lbs, the scale varied so much during the past 2 months, this has to do with water weight, glycogen, and other factors relating to digestion. i highly doubt you gained weight, you need to consider those factors

ironanimal

Any time you increase your calories from a number below maintenance, you will gain a few pounds in glycogen and water. You need to sit at a particular calorie level for a while before you can really tell if you gained FAT.

Edit; cwolfman beat me to it -- in my case I can easily put on 9lbs in a day when I come out of deficit.

atcross

Bangles:
Your lament sounds a lot like mine. I am always whining about why can't I eat like a normal person w/o ballooning up? I'm trying to lose weight right now, but 9 years ago when I was your age I was maintaining about 115 lbs (at 5'3') on a measly 900 cals a day. And I don't mean net. I was not eating back my exercise cals which I was not bothering to calculate although I was doing cardio and pilates 3-4 days a week. (Frankly, I was exhausted all the time.) So you are not alone! Once I relaxed my very restrictive diet (after getting married; so cliché) and started eating like a normal person, I gained weight pretty fast and now I'm struggling to lose it again. I don't know if that extended period of deprivation damaged my metabolism because before that I wasn't keeping track of my calories. I suspect it may have had some part, but I think I was also just born with a total crap metabolism. I'm eating 1200 cals a day now and running and weight lifting and my weight loss is depressingly slow. I've had my thyroid hormone levels checked twice because there is a lot of thyroid disease in my family and I have several of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism, and although my levels are on the low end, they are not low enough for any doctor to be willing to treat it.
All that to say, it seems everyone's metabolism is different. It is definitely NOT FAIR. Being short (sorry, but I consider myself short) and female doesn't help matters. But if you have many of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism you might want to talk to your doctor about it.

I don't think people on here take into account that our bodies change as we get older. The only people I see with the SAME bodies they had as teenagers were those body builders. Can't we just - accept our bodies and allow them to change and redefine fit as something other than " I want to stay the same size I was when I was young"?? You're not young anymore. We all have to change, it's life.

I believe the OP said she is only 23. Although I think we all know the typical human metabolism slows down with age (if age didn't matter, BMR calculators wouldn't ask for it, right?), I don't think a 23 year old should be experiencing a very significant age-related decrease in metabolic rate since she was, say, 17. Also I was talking about my own experiences when I was 23. Heck, I didn't even have a good metabolism when I was 15. At my current extremely advanced age of 32, I do understand it will probably be a little more difficult to lose weight than when I was younger, but I'm just not quite ready yet to through up my hands and accept that I cannot again attain the figure of my 27 year old self.

SoreTodayStrongTomorrow222

I didnt read all of the other replies so I dont know what everyone said but here's my take:

If you are working out, 1600 should be fine but what do you consider "working out" or "lifting?" A couple of reps with a 5lb dumbell isn't going to cut it. Perhaps you are overestimating your workout routine? I am not trying to be mean but it is a possibility...

Also, if you have a habit of yo-yo dieting... maybe your metabolism is going to have to be "reset"

nxd10

My BFF believes that it isn't calories but what makes up those calories that determines weight loss or gain. She has show me a handful of articles that have led me to believe that it is possible that our understanding of calories and the relation to weight loss and gain may not be correct/complete.

I found the book Why We Get Fat very helpful in this regards. It's written by the former NYTimes Science editor and is consistent with the NIH's recommendations. Lots of info, but basic: if you can stay under 35% of your calories from easy to digest carbs (sugar, unprocessed flour, juices, etc.), you will have an easier time maintaining than if your calories are the same but your carb % is higher. This is particularly true if you've been overweight in the past or have a tendency towards diabetes (glucose resistance).

The science made sense to me and it has helped me. That's not low carb - it's just less processed food.

Momjogger

I agree about processed carbs. Your body also expends more calories to process whole foods such as fruit and veggies than it does to process processed foods (LOL). Eating higher quality food when possible should help as well.

nxd10

I agree about processed carbs. Your body also expends more calories to process whole foods such as fruit and veggies than it does to process processed foods (LOL). Eating higher quality food when possible should help as well.

It's not that it takes more calories to do it, it just takes longer tp break them down so they don't hit your body all at once, thus your body responds to them somewhat differently.

rosebette

Bangles and TP2323, your body types sound similar to mine, but I'm quite a bit older (55!). I'm 5'2" and now around 123 and would like to get to 116 or lower, which was my weight when I was younger However, at 5'3" as other posters mentioned, you are well within your normal body weight, hardly "fat" by any means. However, it is more challenging for a smaller female to stay at her goal weight because the calorie needs are not that high. I'm at 1200, and have been told that I can't expect to lose more than 1/2 or 3/4 a week because even eating at a 500 calorie deficit brings me below 1000 calories a day, basically starvation mode, probably what you gals ended up doing to your bodies. So, the weight comes off more slowly unless we want to mess up our metabolism. And because our needs our so little, it doesn't take much to push us 500 or so calories more than our needs. I ate out 3 times this week-end (Valentine's Day, my daughter's birthday) and ate 500 over my budget each time -- I'm now at least 2 lbs. heavier, and it will take a week of staying at 1200 and exercising to get that weight back off.

I also wonder what you mean about your clothes being tighter if you're doing weight training. Is it necessarily "bad tight"? I weight train, and all my tops are tighter in the chest, back, and shoulders -- because I'm getting more muscular. I need to wear a M or even L top so it will fit in the chest or shoulders. Also, if you're working your glutes, sometimes you will get more developed muscles there and might fill out your jeans better -- if so, lucky you because my butt got flatter when I worked out. You're also not going to have skinny stick thighs if you're building strong quads and hamstrings. You might want to let go of the teen-age ideal of the "thigh gap" and embrace a healthy, strong body. That's different from not being able to zip your jeans over your lil pot belly.

bangles501

I know that I'm not overweight, I have a healthy BMI and it was still in the healthy range when I was a stone heavier however I didn't feel comfortable at that weight, I don't think the weight looked right on my body as much as I didn't think it looked right when I was restricting and about 8 stone as I was too skinny. I'm not obsessed about being a particular weight, I know it fluctuates. I weigh myself in the morning before I've had anything to eat and it can be anywhere between 112 and 118lbs which is ok. I just know that if it's 118lbs or higher for a few days in a row then I've actually gained weight. The reason I think I'm gaining weight on 1500 calories a day + exercise is because my clothes are getting tighter and all I care about is my size and the way I look and feel, not the number on the scale! These are clothes I've had for years, not ones I bought when I was under weight.

Today I weighed 112lbs, yet my pencil skirt is actually painful to zip up! This was a perfect fit a year ago before I put on weight and after I lost it again.

Maybe it is my body changing with age but I'm only 23 and I don't see why I'd suddenly be gaining more body fat. I eat mostly whole foods, avoid wheat and refined sugars as much as possible.

I definitely do not overestimate my activity levels as I calculate it all as if I had a sedentry lifestyle and rarely eat my exercise calories back. I don't count strength straining calories at all, just cardio and I only eat some of them back when I burn over 500 - I run long distances.

I really hope this is just water retention from the new strength training I'm doing but I'm so scared I'm just gaining weight for no reason. I want to be able to eat a healthy 1700 calories a day and then gradually build muscle so I will be able to eat more.

nxd10

Perhaps you are having a bloating problem, rather than a weight problem? This is not a minor thing - my husband stays the same weight and his waist can expand 10" overnight. It's amazing - he looks pregnant one day and slim the next.

Perhaps you should look at your diary and start measuring your waist/abdomen daily and record that? Then you can see if you are having food triggers. For my husband, it's wheat and fat. He's not allergic to gluten, for example, but it irritates his guts so they don't work well - it runs in his family (his sister has celiac disease and he has had a foot of intestine removed). Dropping beer and being very careful with bread has made it completely manageable. He also takes fiber every day, which has helped a lot.

For you it could be something completely different, but your diary is a great tool.

whitebalance

OP, stop everything and read this. Please.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993576-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut

Sharonks

If you are growing around your stomach it could be bloat. Dairy intolerance runs in my family. It really didn't bite me until a few years ago in my mid-40s. It got my sister in her early 30s and just hit my 21 yo daughter. She lost 5 lbs and a lot of bloat the first week she quit consuming dairy. Luckily we all can still eat cheese since we seem to be addicted to it.

For others, the issue can be wheat and/or gluten. It might not hurt to eliminate a food type for a week and see how you feel. Food intolerances can do strange things.

Graelwyn75

When you lose weight, then gain weight back, the weight does not necessarily go back in the same distribution, and similarly, the weight might have come off different places to before, if that makes sense. This could be what has happened in your case.